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Pennsylvania's domiciliary care experiment: II. Cost-benefit implications.

A pilot program based on the substitution of domiciliary care for traditional institutional care was established by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to provide community-based care for individuals who could no longer live independently (aging, mentally retarded, mentally ill). To ascertain the cost saving potential of this program, 190 participants and a comparable pool of non-participants were followed for an average 10-month follow-up period. Within each subgroup, participants were disaggregated into two categories: those residing in a community setting at pretest, and those residing in an institutional setting. An analysis of medical care and social support service utilization profiles indicated that program savings exceeded program cost for five of the six study subsamples; the one exception was the mental retardation cohort residing in a community setting at pretest. Net savings were greatest for the three subsamples residing in an institutional setting at pretest. For all the subsamples, over 90 per cent of the program saving stemmed from a lower use of institutional placements.

Aging↗

Comparison of recruitment strategies for a large-scale clinical trial in the elderly.

Formal evaluation of recruitment strategies for clinical trials conducted in the community setting, rather than in hospitals, is limited despite recruitment rates and costs having significant implications for the planning of large trials. As part of the development of a large-scale primary prevention trial of low-dose aspirin in 15,000 elderly persons (aged 70 years and above) to be undertaken in a community setting, a pilot study involving 400 participants was carried out to evaluate different recruitment strategies. Three techniques were compared: recruiting from the electoral roll (by individual invitation using direct mail), local community approach (through retirement villages, local media, elderly community groups), and using general/family practice (identifying persons over 70 within a practice and direct mail invitation to participate). Screening of potential participants was carried out by a trained trial nurse with limited involvement only of medical practitioners. The target recruitment figure was achieved in 4 months using the equivalent of 1.5 full-time nurses. General practice was the most effective method utilized, with a yield of one participant recruited per six approached at an estimated cost of A$48.36 per recruited participant. This compares with yield rates of 1 per 29 (for the local community approach) and 1 per 17 for the electoral roll, and costs per participant of A$42.54 and A$59.37 respectively. Other less tangible benefits of general practice include the greater cooperation of primary care practitioners in patient follow-up and end-point ascertainment.

Aged↗

An ecological assessment inventory to facilitate community recreation participation by severely disabled individuals.

Severely disabled individuals have long been systematically excluded from actively participating in normalized recreation/leisure activities in integrated community settings. Severely disabled individuals should be taught functional and age appropriate skills, based upon the performance characteristics of nonhandicapped peers. In order to present this position, typical assumptions of leisure skill instruction for severely disabled individuals are discussed and opposing points of view are presented. Finally, the article presents a concrete strategy, or inventory, that is divided into three interrelated areas including: skill selection and skill/facility description, component skills and adaptations for full/partial participation, and supportive skills. The inventory can be used by therapeutic recreation specialists and other educators to develop functional, age appropriate leisure skill instructional content. It is expected that this approach, coupled with longitudinal planning, will facilitate the provision of opportunities for severely disabled individuals to actively participate in normalized recreation/leisure skills in integrated community settings.

Community Health Services↗

Sjögren's syndrome in the community: can serology replace salivary gland biopsy?

BACKGROUND: It is relatively difficult in a community setting to perform salivary gland biopsy or reliable diagnostic tests for salivary gland involvement in a patient suspected to suffer from Sjögren's syndrome (SS). OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether anti-Ro/La antibodies are a good substitute for salivary gland biopsy in community patients suspected to suffer from SS. METHODS: Forty-one patients suspected as having SS due to dry eyes and mouth, articular complaints, and/or serological findings were examined for the presence of anti-Ro/La, and underwent minor salivary gland biopsy. RESULTS: Sixteen patients (39%) were classified as primary SS by the American-European Consensus Group criteria. Twelve subjects had anti-Ro/La antibodies and 11 subjects in this group had positive biopsy findings. Of 29 patients without anti-Ro/La antibodies, only four manifested positive biopsy findings. A significant association was found between the presence of anti-Ro/La antibodies and positive salivary gland findings characteristic for SS (p<0.0001, Fisher's exact test). CONCLUSION: These findings tend to support the suggestion that a patient suspected to suffer from SS in a community setting may be first tested for the presence of anti-Ro/La antibodies to confirm the diagnosis. Only those with a negative result for the presence of anti-Ro/La antibodies need to be referred for salivary gland biopsy.

Antibodies, Antinuclear↗

Older South Asian patient and carer perceptions of culturally sensitive care in a community hospital setting.

This study describes the application of grounded theory to establish older, south Asian patient and carer views of service delivery in the UK. The purpose of the study was to inform the development of culturally sensitive services by defining the concept of cultural sensitivity from a user/carer perspective. The study took place in two community hospitals providing nurse-led intermediate care to a culturally diverse inner city population. Fifty-five per cent of the inner city population is of south Asian origin. Admissions to intermediate care, however, do not reflect the demography. Recent reports commissioned by the Department of Health highlight the failure of the National Health Service in England to provide culturally sensitive services to black and Asian patients. The Department of Health is trying to redress this inequality providing policy guidance for improving access and cultural sensitivity in the British health care system. There is little existing empirical evidence, however, to clarify the concept of culturally sensitive care. Patients and carers in this study described culturally appropriate care as that which respects individuality, creates mutual understanding, caters for spiritual need and maintains dignity. Older south Asian patients and their carers identified respect, understanding, spirituality and dignity as central to their conceptualization of cultural sensitivity. Their focus was on the nature of human relationships and their ability to interact in a positive way with staff. The findings of this small piece of empirical research are limited by the sample size (four patients and three carers), but illustrate that cultural sensitivity, although complex, can be defined. This then provides a basis for developing appropriate care strategies. One universal principle explicit in this research was that to be sensitive to culture staff must challenge their own assumptions and develop an understanding of the many layers of culture and subculture with which they are dealing. The starting point for any service is to understand the expectations of its users and to seek out and manage areas of conflict between organizational values and individuals' cultural requirements.

Asia↗

The "cost" of operative training for surgical residents.

HYPOTHESIS: There is an increase in the amount of time required to perform an operation when the procedure involves training a surgical resident. This increased time does not translate into a financial burden for the hospital. DESIGN: Retrospective review of prospectively collected data. During the study period, surgeons and residents were blinded to the study's intent. We compared the operative times of academic surgeons performing 4 common surgical procedures before and after the introduction of a postgraduate year 3 resident into a community teaching hospital. Between January 1, 2001, and June 30, 2002, 4 academic surgeons performed operations without a resident in a community hospital that was recently integrated into a tertiary medical center system. During that period, surgeons operated alone (hernia surgery) or assisted one another (laparoscopic cholecystectomy, colectomy, and carotid endarterectomy). From July 1, 2002, through March 31, 2003, these same 4 surgeons were assisted by a postgraduate year 3 resident on similar procedures. SETTING: Community hospital recently integrated into a tertiary medical center system. PARTICIPANTS: Four experienced academic surgeons operating in the community setting and patients undergoing 1 of 4 surgical procedures (inguinal hernia repair, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, partial colectomy, or carotid endarterectomy) from January 1, 2001, through March 31, 2003. INTERVENTION: The introduction of a postgraduate year 3 surgical resident rotation into a community hospital in which the same academic surgeons had been performing operations without a resident for 18 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mean operating time with and without a postgraduate year 3 resident participating in 4 common surgical procedures. Result For the 4 procedures studied, there was a significant increase in the operative time required to complete such procedures. CONCLUSIONS: There is an increased time cost associated with the operative training of surgical residents. This "cost" primarily impacts the attending surgeon.

Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic↗

African-American nurses' attitudes toward older persons.

Based on current demographic trends, more ethnic minority nurses will be caring for older adults in acute and community settings. Although elder care is adversely affected by ageist attitudes held by some nurses, the influence of race and nursing care setting on ageist attitudes has not been adequately investigated. The aims of this study were to describe the attitudes of African-American nurses toward older adults and to compare the attitudes of ethnic minority nurses working in hospital versus community settings. Using a comparative-descriptive design, more than half of the 720 (n = 720) randomly selected members of the National Black Nurses Association (N = 2,293) completed Kogan's Attitude Toward Old People Scale. Findings from this study suggested that African-American nurses expressed positive attitudes overall. Registered nurses and nurses with master's degrees displayed the most positive attitudes, while retired nurses and less educated nurses in acute-inpatient settings demonstrated the most negative attitudes. One conclusion from these data is that education regarding characteristics and needs of older adults should be provided to nurses in all settings, with emphasis placed on nurses with less education and nurses in acute-inpatient settings.

Acute Disease↗

Noncompliance in community psychiatry: a review of clinical interventions.

A substantial number of psychiatric patients seen in community settings fail to comply with treatment. Noncompliance takes many forms, including failure to keep initial appointments, to complete outpatient referrals from emergency services, to keep aftercare appointments following hospitalization, to remain in treatment, and to take prescribed medication. The author reviews the literature on noncompliance in community settings and discusses interventions that have been found to reduce noncompliance. Based on the review, four general recommendations for improving patient compliance are given; they are scheduling appointments before release from inpatient treatment, shortening the waiting period for appointments, using prompts in the form of letters and telephone calls to encourage patients to keep their appointments, and offering orientation and education about treatments and medications.

Aftercare↗

Patient-centered outcomes of diabetes self-care. Associations with satisfaction and general health in a community clinic setting.

BACKGROUND: Despite the recognition of strategies for diabetes care management, information systems that screen patient diabetes self-care problems are not commonplace, especially among low-income patients. This study examined correlates of three patient-centered outcomes of diabetes self-care (awareness of self-care components, difficulties in diabetes self-care, and adherence to self-care) among low-income diabetic patients. METHODS: Clinical and patient survey data were obtained on 249 participants from 11 primary care community health clinics serving low-income populations in North Carolina in Project IDEAL (Improving Diabetes Education, Access to Care and Living). Measures of patient-centered outcomes of self-care were obtained from the Diabetes Quality Improvement Project (DQIP) Patient-Reported Measures set. RESULTS: A substantial proportion of patients reported difficulty achieving standard self-care treatment goals. The study identified distinct patient characteristics associated with poor self-care outcomes. Increased understanding of self-care components and adherence to them were associated with increased perception of quality of care and, in turn, better general health perceptions in these patients (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study identified an unmet need for diabetes self-care knowledge and skills associated with patient outcomes in low-income patients. Routine monitoring of patient-centered self-care outcomes could help improve long-term outcomes of diabetes care in this population.

Community Health Services↗

Incentives for community treatment. Mental illness management services.

Serving people with mental and other chronic illnesses in community settings may improve compliance and satisfaction with treatment, but existing payment mechanisms often favor office-based treatment. This study examines the effect of a change in Medicaid payment on the location and amount of service provided by case managers. Amounts of service given by treatment providers to 185 of their clients in community settings and in mental health centers were compared before and after reimbursement changed from an all-inclusive prospective rate to a mixed prospective/retrospective payment. Clients were enrolled in two different treatment programs: continuous treatment teams with extensive training in in vivo treatment, and a case management program that emphasized office-based treatment. In-community service increased, and the amount of office-based treatment decreased. Continuous treatment teams increased in-community services more than case managers did; case managers decreased office-based treatment more. There was no change in total amount of services provided. It was concluded that mixed prospective and retrospective reimbursement can remove financial barriers to in-community treatment, but it works best in combination with a training program. Additional research is needed to determine the precise financial impact of such changes.

Adult↗

Acceptability of compulsory powers in the community: the ethical considerations of mental health service users on Supervised Discharge and Guardianship.

OBJECTIVES: To explore mental health service users' views of existing and proposed compulsory powers. DESIGN: A qualitative study employing in-depth interviews. Participants were asked to respond to hypothetical questions regarding the application of compulsory powers under the Mental Health Act 1983 for people other than themselves. SETTING: Community setting in Southeast England. PARTICIPANTS: Mental health service users subject to Supervised Discharge/Guardianship. RESULTS: Participants considered that the use of compulsory powers was justified if there were some ultimate benefit, and if there was evidence of mental health problems, dangerousness, or a lack of insight. However, participants rejected intrusions into their autonomy and privacy. CONCLUSIONS: This paper's participants indicated that the proposed CTO may be unacceptable because it would threaten service users' autonomy. Service users' acceptance of proposed changes is conditional and they emphasised the importance of consent; there is no suggestion that consent will be required for the CTO. The findings also have implications for the exploration of mental health service users' views and how they might contribute to policy, service planning, and research.

Attitude to Health↗

Explanations for stress and satisfaction in mental health professionals: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: High levels of burnout and poor psychological well-being, but also relatively high levels of job satisfaction, have been found among mental health staff, especially those based in community settings. AIMS: In order to investigate the basis of these findings, a qualitative interview study was carried out, exploring mental health staff's views of their work and of its effects on them. METHOD: A semi-structured interview was administered to a purposive sample of 30 professionals, including junior and senior members of each profession in both hospital and community settings. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using QSR NUD.IST software. RESULTS: For most professionals, contact with colleagues was one of the major rewards of the job. There was surprisingly little evidence of conflict or difficulties defining roles between disciplines, except for the social workers, for whom difficulty in defining roles in relation to other professions was a major preoccupation. Reported stresses differed between community and hospital staff. Community staff tended to find their contacts with patients highly rewarding, but also to feel burdened by a strong and uncomfortable sense of being constantly responsible for their clients' well-being and actions. Ward staff, on the other hand, identified as central difficulties in their job lack of autonomy, responsibility and scope for developing an independent therapeutic role. They felt demoralised by revolving door' patients and by violence and the need to restrain patients.

Burnout, Professional↗

Can emergency department physicians safely and effectively initiate thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke?

OBJECTIVE: To review the clinical outcomes of stroke patients treated with IV tissue plasminogen activator (tPA; alteplase) in a community setting and to compare outcomes when treatment was initiated by a neurologist or an emergency department (ED) physician in telephone consultation with a neurologist and radiologist. METHODS: Clinical information was prospectively collected for 43 stroke patients treated with IV tPA (alteplase) within a five-hospital network of affiliated community hospitals. Blinded 3-month outcomes were obtained with telephone interview or patient visit. RESULTS: Excellent functional recovery measured by a Modified Rankin score of 0 to 1 (42%), symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhages (7%), and mortality (16.3%) were similar to those reported by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (39%, 7.7%, 17.3%). After initial screening by an ED physician, 20 patients were directly examined by a stroke neurologist who then prescribed tPA. Twenty-three patients received tPA prescribed by an ED physician after telephone consultation with a neurologist and review of the head CT by a radiologist. Functional outcome, symptomatic intracerebral bleeding rate, and mortality rate were similar between these groups. Door-to-needle time was similar. Protocol deviations were much higher when ED physicians prescribed the tPA compared to when neurologists did (30% versus 5%). These protocol deviations were reduced with staff education. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical results of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke tPA Stroke Trial were replicated in this small series of patients treated in a community setting. Outcomes were similar whether the prescribing physician was a neurologist or an ED physician.

Aged↗

Inappropriate prescribing practices: the challenge and opportunity for patient safety.

Adverse clinical events related to inappropriate prescribing practices are an important threat to patient safety. Avoidance of inappropriate prescribing in community settings, where the majority of prescriptions are written, offers a major area of opportunity to improve quality of care and outcomes. Electronic medication order entry systems, with automated clinical risk screening and online alerting capabilities, appear as particularly promising enabling tools in such settings. The Medical Office of the Twenty First Century (MOXXI-III) research group is currently utilizing such a system that integrates identification of dosing errors, adverse drug interactions, drug-disease and allergy contraindications and potential toxicity or contraindications based on patient age. This paper characterizes the spectrum of alerts in an urban community of care involving 28 physicians and 32 pharmacies. Over a consecutive nine-month period, alerts were generated in 29% of 22,419 prescriptions, resulting in revised prescriptions in 14% of the alert cases. Drug-disease contraindications were the most common driver of alerts, accounting for 41% of the total and resulting in revised prescriptions in 14% of cases. In contrast, potential dosing errors generated only 8% of all alerts, but resulted in revised prescriptions 23% of the time. Overall, online evidence-based screening and alerting around prescription of medications in a community setting demands confirmation in prescribers' clinical decision making in almost one-third of prescriptions and leads to changed decisions in up to one-quarter of some prescribing categories. Its ultimate determination of clinical relevance to patient safety may, however, have to await more detailed examination of physician response to alerts and patient outcomes as a primary measure of utility. Patient safety is an increasingly recognized challenge and opportunity for stakeholders in improving health care delivery. It involves many issues, including delayed diagnosis and treatment, as well as inappropriate undertreatment and overtreatment. The common denominators, however, are that care and outcomes could be better, and there is a role for patients, providers and policy makers in making improvements.

Community Health Services↗

All Wales surveillance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): the first year's results.

Over the last five years, hospitals in Wales have experienced difficulties with increasing numbers of isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Continuous total population surveillance of MRSA was introduced with the objectives of gaining an understanding of the extent and variation in time and place of its occurrence, the burden of disease and possible risk factors associated with its isolation and resistance to other antibiotics. All first isolates of MRSA from both hospital and community settings and all isolates of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) associated with bacteraemia and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) isolates detected in medical microbiology laboratories in Wales were collected via CoSurv, a set of interconnected data-base modules for communicable disease control. A data set was collected on each isolate and the patient associated with that isolate and compiled centrally at CDSC (Wales) for all-Wales analysis of the MRSA situation. Surveillance started in January 1996 and at the end of the first year, 2700 new isolates of MRSA had been reported from hospital and community settings, giving a rate of 92.43/100,000 population. The incidence of MRSA from bacteraemias and CSF was 5.20/100,000 compared with 12.70/100,000 for MSSA. MRSA from bacteraemia and CSF was significantly more commonly associated with male patients than MSSA. MRSA patients were significantly older. For all MRSA isolates, the highest reporting rate was in men aged 75+ (647.21/100,000). The highest incidence of invasive disease was also in men aged 75+ (45.69/100,000). Isolates from post-surgical patients were more likely to be involved in invasive disease (OR = 2.59), P < 0.001) than strains from other sources. The majority of isolates were resistant to at least two antibiotics in addition to methicillin, most frequently erythromycin and the fluoroquinolones. Very little resistance to fusidic acid, mupirocin or rifampicin was reported. Continuous total population surveillance has provided a minimum incidence of MRSA in Wales and has allowed a simple and intelligible picture of the problem to be determined, which has been fed back to hospitals to assist decisions on control.

Adolescent↗

The impact of symptom interpretation on physician utilization.

This article explores physician consultation decisions among a sample of elderly people living in community settings. The analysis integrates the insights of research on illness behavior, particularly symptom interpretation and lay consultation, with previous specifications of the Health Behavior Model. Data were gathered through personal interviews and health diaries completed on a daily basis for 21 consecutive days by a probability sample of older people living in community settings. Results indicate that uncertainty regarding potential seriousness, level of pain or interference, and causal attributions were the most consistently significant predictors of physician contact.

Aged↗

Improved health-related quality of life with SSRIs and other antidepressants.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To document the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of depressed patients receiving antidepressant drugs. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Community pharmacy-based setting. PATIENTS: Fifty-seven depressed patients. INTERVENTION: Independent pharmacist members of the Community Pharmacists Research Network in Georgia administered the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) to subjects. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Sixty-one percent of patients were treated with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and 38.6% were treated with a non-SSRI. Those receiving SSRIs scored higher on the mean physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) health summary scores of the SF-36 than those not receiving the drugs. No significant differences were seen in PCS or MCS scores of men and women. CONCLUSION: Community pharmacists documented better HRQOL in patients receiving SSRIs than in those given other antidepressants.

Adult↗